European sharemarkets rose while the few Asian markets that were fell as North America was closed for a holiday along with those in Singapore, China, Taiwan and Korea.Stocks in Europe were up for the fifth time in six sessions, boosted by gains in the air
European sharemarkets rose while the few Asian markets that were fell as North America was closed for a holiday along with those in Singapore, China, Taiwan and Korea.
Stocks in Europe were up for the fifth time in six sessions, boosted by gains in the airline sector and a broker upgrade for automaker Renault.
The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index rose 0.4% to end at 241.92, extending gains from the previous week when the index rose 1.5%.
London's FTSE 100 was 0.7% higher at 5180.66, Frankfurt's DAX was up 0.7% at 5536.93 and Paris' CAC-40 increased 0.9% to 3630.00.
Helping the broader advance, British Airways jumped 2.6%. Renault shares jumped 2.4% after the French auto maker was upgraded to overweight from underweight at Morgan Stanley.
Last week's action was dominated by hopes for a rescue plan for Greece, which culminated in a statement of support from European leaders. The topic is set to be a top item at a meeting of European finance ministers in the early part of this week.
Traders were also keeping one eye on Dubai's sovereign debt as concerns emerged over the weekend about Dubai World's debt repayment plans, which resulted in Dubai stocks shedding 3.5% on Sunday.
Asian markets were mostly lower. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average of 225 companies dropped 0.8% to 10013.30, its fifth loss in the last seven sessions.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.4% to 4545.45, snapping a three-session winning streak.
Philippine shares rose 0.5% to 2963.24 while India's Sensex dropped 0.7% to 16038.35.
Commodities: Oil down, gold up
Crude-oil prices drifted lower Monday, as debt concerns and weak fundamentals continued to weigh on sentiment.
Activity was subdued, with many participants sidelined by holidays as well as a large oil-industry gathering in London.
The March contract was down 12USc at $US74.01 a barrel in New York. The April Brent contract on London's ICE futures exchange fell 31USc a barrel to $US72.59.
Gold for April delivery was at $US1098.70 an ounce in New York, up from $US1090 an ounce. In London, spot gold was at $US1,098.25 an ounce, up from $US1092.40.
Currencies: Euro, pound down
The euro was little changed against the dollar ahead of the meeting of EU ministers on Greece's debt problems.
The euro was at $1.3591 from $US1.3618 late on Friday in New York.
The dollar was at ¥89.96 from ¥89.99, while the euro was at ¥122.27 from ¥122.52.
The pound fell to $US1.5653 from $US1.5677.
